And finally ... a race report!

Well, it's been a bit of  gap between race reports given the fragile fibula status.  Since pulling out of Vancouver marathon in early May and then 10 days later finding out I had a stress fracture to my fibula there has understandably been a big fat zero racing miles.  Well, not unless you want to count the 160km Gran Fondo cycling event that I did in Langley, BC back in July, which was more of an effort to make it to the finish line under cut offs rather than a race per se... and despite adding a bonus 12km, I made it to the finish line in a very pedestrian 6h44.  That's slow, very slow, but it was a great day out and fun to do an event given my running race calendar for the year had been scrapped.

Telluride, CO

But this past weekend I jumped at taking part in the Telluride Mountain Run Hill Climb, a first year event put on by Dakota Jones and Reese Ruland in awesome Telluride, Colorado.  My main running weaknesses I consider to be:

- uphill
- sub-marathon distances
- anything at altitude

Cool down run with a pre-Leadville-mid-Grand-Slam Ian Sharman

So given I am at nothing like normal fitness and training volume it was fun to try an event which I would never normally contemplate - 10 miles total, 5 up, 5 back down and a total of 1200 metres of climbing so we'd top out at a lung-sucking 3823 metres!

Rainy runners at the awards

The main sell-out event was the 40-miler Telluride Mountain Run, so it was a chilled out affair when about 30 of us began the hill climb at a leisurely 10am.  I'd grabbed a Clif Bar and a coffee for breakfast, hung around chatting to Cam Clayton, who being more used to these shorter distances runs than me suggested that I might actually want to do a warm up, and I had survived the altitude with a 10min jog along the riverside bike path in town.  Ok, ready to charge up the hill!  Well, except there was not much charging going on, more of a steady jog until the grade steepened and very soon I switched to a power hike, and resolved that there was not going to be much uphill running at this oxygen-deprived elevation.

RD Dakota Jones surveying his domain

I had zero expectations other than to hike as fast as I could and where the path levelled out a bit to try run if my legs and lungs would allow, and soon I settled into a pushing yet comfortable pace and was pulled along by the lead woman in front of me as well as looking enviously ahead at a guy who'd had the smarts to bring trekking poles.  Soon our efforts were rewarded with stunning mountain vistas, made all the better as this was my first trip to Colorado and the first time I'd seen Telluride in daylight.  Immediately I knew why the San Juans are a trail runners paradise.  It was just stunning!  But there was not much time to admire the views as on I trudged until we reached the final 1/2 mile or so scramble to the top; hands on knees, up on my toes and just keep moving, however slowly.  The very top flattened out and I forced myself to run around the summit cairn despite the air seeming exceptionally thin.  A quick look at the stellar mountain scenery around me and then time for the fun part - bomb back down the way we had come, 5 miles of down down down.  Suddenly the uphill climb definitely seemed worth while!  I knew that 5 miles of 100% descent would be maybe a bit too good of a test for the still-recovering-stress-fracture but I soon drew past the lead woman and I got into race gear.  There is nothing more fun than hammering downhill on trails and I hammered almost as fast as I could.  There was little time to look up, I just kept pushing and knew my quads would be complaining later but it was definitely worth it for the fun of going full tilt down the trail.

Sean Meissner post-race modelling

And before I knew it I was back at the bottom, a souvenir race glass in my hand, a keg of beer and awesome homemade soup at the finish line and having fun hanging out and cheering the 40-mile runners in.

A really fun race, definitely the first of many trips to Colorado, and I'm already figuring out an altitude training plan so I can race the 40-mile event next year :)  Big shout out to Dakota Jones and Reese Ruland on a fantastic first-year (of many, I hope) event as well as all the local volunteers who helped this event happen.

There might not be an ultra for a while yet but in the meantime I could get used to some shorter mountain racing :)

Simon, 13yrs, I passed him just at the top of the climb.  Congrats on a great race Simon!

Telluride from the Gold Hill climb

Towards the top of the Hill Climb

RD Reese on the mic

Classic Colorado

This, That and a little bit of the Other

Hmm, well normally I reserve my blog for race reports but there will be a little interlude on racing but still quite a bit going on so time for an update...

Having had some annoying ankle pain that was limiting my running in the weeks leading up to my DNF at BMO Vancouver marathon I found out 10 days later that it was in fact a stress fracture to my fibula.  I was lucky enough to get connected with the wonderful Dr. Dory Boyer and following x-rays which didn't really show too much I was very soon in for a bone scan.  As I lay there having the scan done I could see a big white spot on the screen right where my pain was, well it doesn't take medical training to know that that means something, and something not very good!  Although no one wants a stress fracture I was at least happy to have a diagnosis, I'd had 6 weeks of mystery pain that had not been responding to rest or treatment and it was getting frustrating so at least now I know what it is and I am on a treatment and rest plan to get back to running just as soon as a safely can.  For right now it is no-impact activities, so swimming, pool running and some easy cycling.  New swimsuit purchased, oh and a new bike too (that I've wanted for years).  And before you ask, no - I have no plans to do a triathlon ... yet!

Looking not bad just metres before I pulled the plug at 30km in Van marathon, not knowing I had a stress fracture

New wheels at Deep Cove, North Vancouver

Before the stress fracture diagnosis I'd already pulled the plug on Comrades as I knew I was in no  state to race 89km.  As I sat in Dr. Dory's office the realisation that I would also not be racing Western States and Speedgoat hit.  Since then I've also pulled the plug on UTMB - yes, I may be able to run 100 miles by then but I don't want to rush my return to running by having a big race looming.  Once I'm back running a little I'll start looking for some lower key, fun races to hopefully take part in come the fall.

So what on earth have I been filling my time with now I'm not running 15 - 20 hours per week?  To be honest, I have no idea how I had the time to do all that running as the days are speeding by!  Ok, the life guards now know me at the pool very well (18 days of swimming and pool running in the past 20 days) but I've also been catching up on other things like reading good books, seeing friends and catching up on things in general.

My current workout gear

Two weekends ago I volunteered at a low key local race in North Van, the Iron Knee 25km...well it looked low key until Rickey Gates and Adam Campbell came flying through our aid station and a world class battle was on.

Sammy and Ben volunteering at Iron Knee

I've also been enjoying doing some writing and have two recent posts on my Chicks Corner column over at iRunFar.com.  Check them out by clicking here.

Finally my fundraising efforts for Dekpor School Deveopment Organisation in Ghana came to an end and a huge thank you to all fo you who doanted and help raise $3649 for this super cause!  It really will make a difference to this grassroots cause.  Big shouts out to my sponsors Mountain Hardwear, Drymax Socks, Flora Health, Sundog Eyewear, Petzl and Clif Bar who donated draw prizes to encourage you to donate.  Although my fundraising efforts have ended DSDO is always in need of funds so please do check their website out.  They are also one of the official charities for the Scotia Bank Waterfront Toronto Marathon (and 5km and 1/2) in October, so if you are running please consider raising funds for them.

Finally, I'm looking forward to spectating at Western States in 3 weeks time.  It will be fun to connect with lots of friends, runners and sponsors, and I'm particularly looking forward to being part of the Veteran's Panel hosted by AJW with Tim Twietmeyer, Gordy Ainsleigh and myself.  If you are in Squaw do pop along on Thurs 27th at 5pm to Squaw Valley Lodge, entrance is free and open to all, it will be great to see you there.

With AJW, WS100 2012

Lastly, I will continue to blog but for more regular little updates you can always check out my Facebook page here.

Happy Pool Running!
Ellie

BMO Vancouver 30.29km - My Smiling Thirty in the Sun

In 2008 I ran my first sub-3 hour marathon ever at my home town race of Vancouver and placed 3rd female - awesome race!  In 2009 I went into the race with a nagging SI injury and dropped (or rather Gary Robbins persuaded me to stop running as I was a hobbling and sniffly mess at just over the half way mark).  In 2012 I ran my current PB of 2h42 at Vancouver some 8 days after moving back to the city and was first female - awesome race!  In the 2013 version of the BMO Vancouver Marathon, held this past Sunday, I went in with niggling ankle pain and dropped 2hrs/ 30.29kms in.  Morale of the story - if I have an awesome race at Vancouver under NO circumstances should I sign up the following year!

Gordon & Bryan, fellow volunteers at BC Athletics booth at the expo, day before the race

Dropping out this year was much easier than in 2009.  Although I hoped that miracles might happen and that no ankle pain would materialise I was realistic that it would and I just hoped to get as far as I could, without doing any damage, and put in a decent paced run.  Yes, I did hope for that miracle but I had back up plans should it not happen.

Start of the Half Marathon in Queen Elizabeth Park

At the race start line I was relaxed and just looking forward to a great day out, it was going to be hot and sunny and I couldn't wait for it - I'd not run outside for 2 weeks as right now my ankle prefers the smooth surface of the treadmill, so I'd got plenty of heat training in in a stuffy gym :)   I also knew that even if I made it to the finish line the focus was not on speed but on running solid; no need to run with my eye balls bursting out from the start.

I had friends who I knew would be at various points of the course and they'd been given strict instructions to physically remove me from the course if I was looking rough.  I also had 'Comrades' written on my arm along with a piece of my Comrades medal ribbon around my wrist to remind me that, however much I'd be tempted to push myself into the pain bucket, today was not the day to do so.  Comrades is my 'A' race and today was a stepping stone rather than the final destination.

Reminder of the year ahead...

Early on I ran along side my buddy Hassan (Sammy) Lofti-Pour, who has represented Canada at the World 100km several times.  It was great to run with Sammy and be in a pack with a few guys to keep things light hearted and social.  Early on I was surprised by how bad my quads felt despite having run way less mileage recently than usual, the little ups seemed especially tough - darn my physio Ramsey who has had me doing lots of squats - lead-like quads from the get go (and I thought I had trail runners quads, obviously not!)  Ramsey, Allison and Brooke were out on the course along with lots of VFAC team mates such as Steve, Barry and Janette, as well as Gili.  I looked forward to seeing them and would give them the thumbs up as I passed as my ankle was feeling good, especially given the net downhill profile of the first half of the course.

As we approached the top of the descent down Spanish Banks hill I looked up and said out loud 'wow, look at that view!'  The Pacific was glistening below us and the snow capped North Shore mountains looked just stunning, Vancouver was showing off for sure!  By this point, about 19km in, I was running with a woman from Seattle and tried to help her with course tips as she'd not run the route before.  I think she may have thought it was a little crazy that her 'competitor' was sharing course strategies but I let her know that I was unlikely to make it to the finish and we enjoyed quite a few kms together.

Cruising in Kits.  Photo: Ryan Allderman

Coming into Kits I knew I should drop at about the 2hr mark, although my ankle was ok it was not great and the full 42.2 wouldn't be smart.  So I decided to ensure that I enjoyed my 2 hour outdoor run and smiled my way though and even high-fived a person in an oversize blue bear costume at the side lines (normally I hate those sort of official mascots with a passion!)  On the Kits side of Burrard Bridge I pulled over to see Ramsey and Allison (physio couple extraordinaire) and told Ramsey I would drop the other side of the bridge.  I did ask what he thought of me walking the final 12km (it was such a lovely day after all!), he rolled his eyes and suggested I could go on a walk later that afternoon.  Despite being an ultra runner, I'm pretty good at following instructions so I agreed that I didn't really need to walk 12km, and off I went for my final 500m or so.  Thankfully on the other side of the bridge I could see my VFAC team mate Jo so I beelined over to him to drop out.  Note to any runner that ever thinks they might need to drop out of a race - find someone to run to, otherwise you feel kinda stupid just stopping by the roadside on your own :)

By mistake I got given a Half Marathon t-shirt at package pick up, I guess that was some sort of omen!

Overall I am really happy I took part in the BMO Vancouver marathon despite not finishing.  I had a super 'custom' run and was glad to feel part of the event and see so many friends.  A HUGE thank you to elite coordinator Lynn Kanuka and all volunteers out on the course.  Vancouver truly is a stunning city and the marathon showcases it at it's best.

Onwards and upwards to the next run....

BMO advertising and memories of an awesome race in 2012.

Men's winner, Thomas Omwenga in 2:24:09, rocking his Montrail Rogue Flys!

The South African Speed Session

‘Two Oceans, One Spirit’ – the tag line of the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon held in Cape Town, South Africa, every Easter weekend for the past 40 plus years.  Well, maybe ‘Two Hills, One Ridiculous Wind Storm’ would be a more accurate description; there is definitely a reason why the local rugby team is called ‘The Stormers’, it pretty much reflects the city’s trademark weather.  I guess that it’s also worth noting that South Africans don’t just refer to 42.2 km races as marathons; the super scenic Two Oceans route along the Atlantic coastline, through Fish Hoek and up and around Chapman’s Peak and Constantia Nek is in fact 56.2 km, but hey – what’s an extra 14 kms when you have stellar views and the South African spirit to keep you rolling?

View from Chapman's Drive pre-race day

As the wind began to howl the afternoon prior to race day I knew it might slow our race times but to be honest I thought it might be to my advantage; with many of the top ladies in the field boasting marathon PBs in the 2:20s or 2:30s, my 2:42 is sluggishly slow in comparison, so I figured that the gnarlier the course was made by the weather, the more my trail experience of battling the elements would give me an edge.  Even so, the wind was roaring, buffeting the furniture around on the patio of our hotel.  This speed session was not going to be easy.

I call Two Oceans a speed session as I was realistic that this is what it was for me given it is a road race and only 1/3 longer than a marathon.  From my experience at Comrades I knew that Africans tend to go out hard and as I stood I good 10 rows back at the start in the dark streets near the University of Cape Town it was impossible to know how many women charged out ahead of me as the bugle of a fish horn heralded the 6.30am start.  I had decided to go out at 4:00 min/ km pace; the first kms were rolling but relatively flat and as ever I’m always surprised by my ability to click right into pace – 4:01 for the first km, 3:59 for the 2^nd – good I thought, a smart start.  However, I was already getting blown around by the wind, I would try to tuck in with a pack of men, but just like at Comrades the men love to use women to pace off and in my Nedbank kit they obviously thought I knew how to pace, so as I turned I saw the shadow of about 10 men in my slip stream but few of them seemed prepared to take the lead from me.  And to be honest, even when I did work my way behind them, invariably the wind was swirling and changing direction so shelter was limited, not to mention that I was taller than many of the lithe African men so it they didn’t really provide much shelter from the elements.  It had been worth a try …

Pre race with Nedbank team mates Tim Stones & Camille Herron

I had no clue what position I was in until a supporter at the sidelines held up six fingers, I held up six fingers back in reply and she nodded her head.  Ok, I knew the Russian Nurgaleiva twins were ahead as well as USA marathoner Camille Herron, and I guessed another two Russians.    I soon moved into what I thought was 4^th but then passed another woman who I didn’t recognize, ok no way I could be in 3^rd and soon I began to pass yet more women who I didn’t recognize.  Clearly I’d not been in anything like 6^th so I was back to having no idea where in the pack I was, oh well, best to run my own race anyway and hopefully I’d get more reliable positioning information later on.

We turned away from the oceanfront at about the 20km mark and as we moved inland to begin the approach of the climb up Chapman’s Drive I hoped we would be moving away from the wind.  No such luck; the wind continued to come in fits and starts making even the supposed ‘easy’ flattish sections seem much more of a battle than I’d anticipated.  I had hoped to feel somewhat relaxed and cruising before attacking the first climb but this was hard when often it was a matter of pushing into the wind to progress forward.  The effort was much more draining than it should have been.  Up Chapman’s Drive we began to climb, the road slowly snaking along the cliffside with jaw dropping views of the turquoise Atlantic Ocean crashing below, white-capped waves showing the power of the wind.  I worked my way up steadily; in our preview drive around the course two days earlier I had been told to take both the climb and descent of ‘Chappies’ with caution – to save something in the tank for Constantia Nek, the second of the two famed hills.

I was delighted to crest the top of ‘Chappies’ but at the summit we were hit by a crazy strong headwind - I actually felt like I might not make it round the corner such was the strength of the wind.  However, I powered through and began the descent only to then have to fight alternating headwinds and tailwinds on the decent to Hout Bay.  A tailwind sounds good until it’s so strong that you are fighting to stay upright.  It was fun, it was wild, it was a little crazy, and it was certainly harder than I had envisaged this section would be.

By now I was alongside a guy and we were working together in sharing the pace.  It was good to have Tokyo France (yep, that really was his name!) alongside me and to feel we were pushing each other, although I passed a few women there were still not many in sight so I needed someone to help me ‘race’ rather than accidentally lull into just ‘running’. 

Somewhere around the 40km mark, on the approach to Constantia Nek, I was joined by a cycle marshal, meaning I was in 10^th position - hmm, further back than I had hoped but at least I knew for sure that I was in top 10 (top ten receive ‘gold’ medals) and I just had to make it up the climb to the 47km mark and then I would hit the hammer for the final 9km, which was pretty much all downhill to the finish.  On the climb I was tiring and I’ll admit that I was tempted to walk but I knew I couldn’t – I’d not come all the way to South Africa to wear my Nedbank kit to walk.  I owed it to my team and to myself to carry on running hard and despite struggling on the climb I passed several more women which spurred me on to push as hard as I could.  In 2012 Devon Yanko had secured her 3^rd place finish by catching several women in the final kms so I held onto this thought and knew I could also catch women; though I doubted quite how many I would pass, I knew I had to try.

As soon as I crested Constantia Nek at 47km I switched gears and began to pound the descent hard, now there was not a hint of holding back, it was ‘trash the quads’ and ‘pinwheel’ the arms time!  Whee hee!  By now the men were spread thin but I passed one after another and knew that there were about 7 women ahead of me and still hoped I could catch a few.  The slight uphills were now a struggle but they were short and soon done, and before I knew it I was into the final 2km and passed another women and could see my Nedbank teammate Nina Podnebesnova in front of me with less than half a km to go to the finish line.  I doubted that I would catch her as I was running out of real estate but that wasn’t going to stop me giving it a shot.  We entered the finishing area – about 200 metres on grass until we would pass under the finish banner; I hate running on grass, it saps all the energy out of my legs at the best of times, let alone when trying to push to an ultra finish line.  But with about 20 metres to go I passed Nina, I was going hard as I could but she switched gear back at me and with 10 metres to go she cruised past me, knocking me back to 7^th again.  For anyone that doesn’t think that seconds matter in ultras, well they do in a competitive field – in fact one lonely little second lay between mine and Nina’s finishing times.  To top it off I missed the Scottish 50km record (taken as a split) by 15 seconds.  Ack!

Here's a link to a funny video showing my total inability to sprint :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4fuKcvdVpFI#t=14849s

Coming into Two Oceans I had hoped that I could finish close to 3h40 but in reality was unsure of how I would fare having never run such a short road ultra before.  I targeted a 4:00 min/ km pace and hit an average of 4:01 min/ km – heck, it would be silly to dwell on that especially given the windy conditions … but 3:59 min/ km sure would have been nice!  Of course everyone out there this past Saturday tackled the same weather so I can’t use that as an excuse but sometimes you simply have to accept that there are runners out there on race day who are just plain faster than you.  My finishing time was close to what I had hoped for; I’d just hoped it would earn me a higher finishing position.  And next time maybe I’ll push harder a little earlier, but I can also go away with the knowledge that I had the fastest female splits from 42km to 50km as well as from 50km to the finish … maybe I just need a longer race course to work my way up the pack J.

Easy run along the waterfront day after race day.

Montrail Fluid Feel Shoe Review

Spring time!  The temperatures are getting a little warmer, the buds are starting to appear on the trees and new lines of shoes are showing up on the shelves of the running stores :)  Just like spring flowers there are some pretty awesome colours appearing in running shoe design but I'll try to be a little more useful than just colour commentary in my thoughts on the Montrail Fluid Feel...

Having been trying out some of the lighter weight shoes in the Montrail line up (Fluid Flex and Rogue Fly) the Fluid Feel immediately looked quite a bulky and heavy shoe when I pulled it out of the box, which it is in comparison to a lot of the trends these days, but at. 8.7oz for women's it is not really a heavy shoe at all.  Like most Montrails, I popped them, thought they felt good for a test run, and went out for a standard 2 hour evening run.  When I got home I looked at my feet and realised I'd been meaning to 'test' the shoes when in reality I'd forgotten within minutes that I was running in new shoes.  Personally this is what I want out of an every day training and ultra racing shoe; something that is almost boringly comfortable and in many ways, unremarkable.

Montrail Fluid Feel - hybrid, neutral shoe, women's 8,7oz

Let's give an example; last November I headed off to JFK 50 miler in Maryland, I'd heard a lot about the course but had never actually set foot on it.  I knew that there was some decently technical trail, then some crushed gravel and finally a good chunk of tarmac, plus at 80km I was going to be on my legs long enough to get some pounding.  I packed 3 different models of Montrails in my bag but ultimately I threw on what I call my 'slippers' - that is my trusty Montrail Fairhavens which I have run anything from 50km to 100 mile races in, ranging from roads to some pretty rugged trails.  They just 'do' for anything.  This is how I feel already about the Fluid Feel - they are an awesome all round shoe (they are a 'hybrid' designed for both use on road and off road) that is not some radical new direction but simply a shoe that fits well, is solid enough to tackle varying terrain and yet is not so heavy so I will happily road run in them too.  This might make the Fluid Feel sounds rather bland but I think this is almost  it's appeal - whilst it can be nice to have a wide range of shoes in our cupboards the expense adds up and non-running partners can ask if you really need yet another pair of shoes!!  Well, with the Fluid Feel you could almost have just one pair of shoes and be good to go (great when travelling too and wanting to limit what you take with you).

A true test was my 24km run the other evening - for about half I pounded the pavement and the other half I was on snow or splashing my way through what is normally a rocky trail but has for the moment been transformed into a mini-river (welcome to winter rain storms in North Vancouver!)  The Fluid Feel had excellent grip on the wet rocks, I felt they had enough bulk to the shoe to protect my feet from  the possible knocks of a gnarly trail, and yet when I hit the pavement they performed well to picking up the tempo.

Check out the more technical specs here, and if you are in North Van both Forerunners and North Shore Athletics have a full range of Montrails on their shelves.

Montrail Fluid Feels - a perfect office shoe!

Running for Books, Buildings and a Brighter Future

Yes, this post might not seem to have a lot to do about running but PLEASE take 10 minutes of your time to read it - a child in Ghana will say THANK YOU if you do, and there are some GREAT draw prizes on offer....

...

All my running, which I do a reasonable amount of, is a rather selfish task.  And while we all have our selfish lives, it seems the way of the Western world these days, of spending much of our free time being able to do what we want and have chosen to do, not everyone in the world does.

I live in a country where I took the fact that I would be well fed, well clothed and well educated for granted.  Never was there a concern that I didn't have clean water to drink or a desk to sit at at school.

This spring I am extremely lucky to be able to make not one but two trips to South Africa to race, to do what I love to do, compete at Two Oceans 56km and Comrades 89km.  So I have decided to tie into these trips a fundraising effort for a school in Ghana, to try make my running more meaningful.  There are quite literally thousands of good causes out there so...


Why have I decided to raise funds for Dekpor School Development Organisation (DSDO)?

- The founder, Linda, who lives in Ghana, is the mum of a friend of mine here in Vancouver, so it's a cause I know is well run by a small group of passionate people.

- My friends Jess and Bill recently got married in Ghana, they have been there themselves and have seen the good work done on the ground.

- DSDO is a very small and very efficient cause.  They are really in need of funds and their administrative costs are kept to an absolute minimum (when I made a donation last year I was emailed my tax receipt 'to save on the cost of a stamp') meaning that money raised really will go to help kids in Ghana.  When Linda was recently visiting Vancouver a call went out in the running community for used sports water bottles so she could take them back in her luggage - no costs of buying new bottles or shipping them out, more leg work but more efficient use of resources.

School children in Dekpor

So what does Dekpor School Development Organisation do?

Their mission is to support Dekpor Basic School's students, teachers and community through the funding of building, repairing and upgrading structures, through the support of teachers and students by volunteer efforts on site, through the individual sponsorship of teachers to enrich the education of many students, through the individual sponsorship of students to assist them in furthering their education, and other projects that will better the ability of Dekpor residents to achieve success.

In 2012 they sponsored 21 students and 8 teachers, they got 57 students on the food program, covered 56 children with health insurance, started a small computer lab, repaired some of the schools structure and much much more.  It sounds all so basic - but that is why this work is all the more important.

Kindergarten children learning outside.

How YOU can help?

I am aiming to raise as much as possible between now and time time I run Comrades on June 3rd.

Donations can be made in all currencies by PayPal or credit card by the link on the page under 'Please Donate' here. I think you can enter my name on the 2nd page so they know where the funds have come from, but if not - no worries - at least they'll get your donation!

How Much should I donate?

As much as possible!  Skip your daily Starbucks for a week and donate $25!  Skip your Starbucks for a month and donate $100!

- $150 will buy a child breakfast AND lunch for a whole year.

- 130 notebooks cost $50, as does one school desk + chair.

- Even if you don't know me personally, please still donate - this really is an excellent cause.

- Those who donate $25 or more will be emailed an official tax receipt (issued quarterly).

Learning without paper, let alone computers!

A Little Incentive to Donate

Many of my fantastic sponsors have jumped on board to offer draw prizes to those who donate minimum $25 or minimum $50.  Draw prizes are listed below and in order to be in with a chance to win please donate minimum $25 or $50 via the link AND email me at dekpordonation@yahoo.com with your name, address, country of residence and how much you donated.  I will draw the lucky winners in early June and announce winners then.  Draw prizes are random, i.e. no requests for specific items, and some  prizes are only available for certain countries of residence.  One item listed below per donation.  Those who donate $50 or more will have a chance to win prizes listed in both the $25 and the $50 list, those who donate $25 to $49 will have the chance to win prizes in the $25 list only.

Minimum $25 donation (or £15, or other currency equivalent)

- Mountain Hardwear ball cap (6 available) (all countries) or...
- 2 pairs of Drymax socks (5 packages available) (US/ Canada only) or ...
- 1 box of Clif bars (12 bars) (US/ Canada only) or ...
- 1 pair of Sundog Eyewear sunglasses (2 available) (all countries) or ...
- 1 bottle (941ml) of Udo's Oil 3.6.9 blend (4 available) (US/ Canada only)
- 1 x Petzl Tikka XP 2 headlamp (all countries)

Minimum $50 donation (or £30, or other currency equivalent)

- 1 Mountain Hardwear Effusion jacket (Canada only) or ...
- 1 Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer jacket (Canada only) or ...
- 1 pair of CEP quad compression sleeves (Canada only) or ...
- 1 pair of CEP compression shorts (Canada only) or ...
- 1 pair of CEP compression socks + 1 pair of Yurbuds headphones (2 packages available) (Canada only)

That's a total of 25 prizes available!

For more info

- Have a look at Dekpor School Development Organisations website by clicking here.

- 'Like' them on Facebook to keep up to date with their news by clicking here.


THANK YOU!

Thank you SO much in advance for your donation, I truly appreciate it as will DSDO and the Ghanian children who will benefit.

Please spread the word and ask friends to donate too!

I will post regularly on Facebook about the cause and donations coming in so follow my Athlete page here.

Digging a water reservoir.





Thank you to these great companies for offering their support for my Dekpor School Development Organisation fundraising project

A few musings from a Half Marathon

Ok, ok, it's Wednesday evening and I ran the Pacific Road Runners First Half Half Marathon on Sunday morning, so in blogging terms this is old news - but hey, Monday was Family Day so I enjoyed a day away from the computer and then the past 2 days have been extra busy catching up on work after the day off!  So, a half marathon is not an ultra which makes a race report seem rather excessive to this mileage junkie who only raced 21.1km, but here are a few brief thoughts:

- My pacing was kinda bad.  I mean it wasn't awful, but heck - I had not much clue what sort of 21.1km shape I was in so I would surge with speedy optimism and then in the next km be reigned in by more sensible pacing thoughts.  I ran the first km in 3.33.  I was a little over excited :)

- About 2km in a guy running next to myself, Catrin Jones (eventual female winner) and Lisa Harvey said 'nice going girls, work together - that's good'.  Uh, thanks 'boy' - we were managing ok without your encouragement and I especially think that Lisa, a former Olympian, doesn't need advice on how to race :)

- When Kevin O'Connor shouted at me 'You're not going to let her go are you?' as Catherine Watkins was gliding past me, I decided he was right.  This made the second half of the race much more intense than the first, but Catherine's and Kevin's motivation were much needed and age graded Catherine Watkins is downright amazing.

- Ultra friends clearly love to cheer on half marathoners - it was fab to see Ferg Hawke, Adam Campbell, Ward Beemer and Pat Malavi, among others cheering us along.

- I recently paid $80 for my senior membership of BC Athletics.  In coming 2nd I won $100 from BC Athletics - $20 in the plus and it's only Feb 11th - woo hoo!

- Pacific Road Runners do a FANTASTIC job at organising this race - a local run club that raises about $50, 000 each year for Variety and puts on a race that sells out in less than a day is impressive.  Thanks guys!

- I wore my Montrail Fluid Flex's.  It was most exciting to wear my beloved Montrails in a true road race - and man was I glad they only weighed 6.1oz - as I scraped a new PB by a mere 5 seconds.

- Rita Ivanauskas takes amazing race pics that truly capture 'the moment' - see below.

- I ate a whole Yaletown Brewpub pizza after the race.  Clearly I am used to refuelling 'ultra style',  ooops.  I did run 43km the next day though so that should have burnt some of it off :)

Happy tarmac and happy trails to one and all.  6.5 weeks til Two Oceans 56km, best be off to the gym now tonight's Nancy Greene-threepeat (a slow one) is in the bag.